'Treasures' in the kitchen of Thai people in Nghe An

Nowadays, the Thai community has had certain changes in their activities and diet, but sticky rice still plays an important role as food. Therefore, sticky rice cooking tools are still quite popular in Thai families.

Thai women often use bamboo shoots to steam sticky rice. Photo: Huu Vi

For many generations, this set of tools has not changed. It consists of 2 parts, the top is a cylindrical wooden tube, 20-30 cm in diameter, over 40 cm high, carved from fig trees and some other types of wood growing along rivers and streams. In Thai, it is called "hay" or "khay".

The “good” thing is a metal pot made of brass, cast iron or aluminum alloy, zinc... The pot has a long neck, on the top is a funnel-shaped part to hold the wooden tube. Water can be poured around to prevent the hot steam from escaping. The Thai people call the pot “mo nung”.

But this special pot is more than just that. It is not simply an ordinary item, although its appearance is somewhat outdated, it has a lasting vitality in Thai culinary culture.

In folk tales, the sticky rice cooker has become very familiar. The story of the fragrant-haired girl, a fairy tale character who was credited by some with helping Le Loi defeat the invading Ming army in the 15th century, is also said to be the one who often used the “mo nung” pot to cook sticky rice for her father.

The image of this familiar object also appears in famous poems of the Thai people of Nghe An such as The Story of the Bird or Khun Chuong... The people who often use it are girls, widows, poor brothers... This shows that this sticky rice cooker has long been a very familiar object to the Thai community.

In ancient times, the bamboo basket also showed the owner's class. Photo: Dao Tho

Those who have been attached to Thai villages for a long time will understand the importance of the “mò nùng” beyond the material level. When a young person gets married, no matter how poor, the homeowner will try to buy one to use. Every early morning, the woman, usually the mother, daughter-in-law or a daughter of marriageable age, who wants to show off her diligence, often gets up early to cook sticky rice. The first thing they do after lighting the fire is to wash the pot. Many people do not wash it at all. They cook it over and over again for many months, until the pot is covered with soot, black and shiny as if the homeowner has used it for hundreds of years. When finished, the pot is returned to its place in the kitchen, in the darkest corner that is hardest to see and is the most precious kitchen utensil.

During the feudal period, owning a “mò nùng” pot also showed the class of the homeowner. Only feudal lords could afford bronze pots, cast in the shape of a dragon, with two ears for easy lifting up and down on the stove. They only used them when there was an important event. Wealthier but lower-class families than the lords often used cheaper bronze pots cast in the shape of a toad. People of lower status often could only afford zinc pots; and no matter how difficult it was, people still tried to have one to use. The “mò nùng” pot was cherished like a treasure.

The bamboo stove has been a part of the Thai people's kitchen for many generations. Photo: Dao Tho

Despite its importance, the Thai people hardly produce the “mo nung” pot. In the Thai villages of Nghe An, there are still blacksmith workshops, but they only stop at forging agricultural tools, not making “mo nung”. It is possible that the metallurgical level of this ethnic minority community does not allow them to make such difficult items. The Mong people, a community with sophisticated blacksmithing skills, do not make these items.

Some elders interviewed said that in the past, Thai people mainly bought “mò nùng” from Lao people. That is why the price was quite expensive, especially when this item was cast in bronze. Later, metallurgists from the lowlands also made “mò nùng”. Local people often bought it from street vendors.

Nowadays, the bronze “mo nung” pots are almost no longer produced. They are only kept by a few Thai families. Some are hundreds of years old. In the 1980s and 90s, many people from the lowlands came to buy these antiques. Many people sold them because the buyers offered high prices.

Although modern kitchen utensils have appeared in the kitchens of the Thai community in Nghe An, the "mo nung" sticky rice dish still exists along with the unique culinary features of the Thai community.